Spin Exchange in Rydberg EIT

The realization of strong optical nonlinearities between two photons has been a longstanding goal in quantum science. We achieve large single-photon-level nonlinearities with Rydberg EIT, which combines slow light techniques with strongly interacting Rydberg states. For two Rydberg atoms in the same state, a Van der Waals interaction is the dominant coupling mechanism. Inherently stronger dipole-dipole interactions are also possible between atoms in different Rydberg states. Using light storage and microwave resonances, we study the effect of dipole-dipole interactions in Rydberg EIT. We observe a coherent spin exchange effect for pairs of states dominated by dipole-dipole interactions. Spin exchange manifests as an increase in optical transmission through a cold Rubidium gas that is highly dissipative in the presence of Van der Waals interactions. We also observe a controlled $\pi/2$ phase shift due to this effect, which paves the way for robust, universal all-optical quantum gates.